NYISO Named Finalist for POWERGRID International's Prestigious Projects of the Year Awards

RENSSELAER, N.Y. (11/12/2014)(readMedia)-- The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) announced today that its new control center has been selected as one of two finalists in the Smart Grid category of POWERGRID International magazine's Projects of the Year awards. Winners will be announced February 2, 2015, during the Electric Light & Power and POWERGRID International Awards Dinner.

Award finalists were selected in four categories, including demand response/energy efficiency, customer engagement, renewable grid integration and smart grid. Eligible projects needed to be completed between December 1, 2013, and December 1, 2014, by companies involved in the transmission and distribution of electric power. The field of eligible participants included investor-owned utilities, federal power agencies, municipal utilities, rural electric cooperatives, independent transmission companies, independent system operators and regional transmission operators.

"Reliable operation of the grid requires constant vigilance every hour of the day, every day of the year. To help achieve this goal, the new control center harnesses critical advantages and efficiencies of grid technologies installed as part of our smart grid investment grant project." said Stephen G. Whitley, the NYISO's president and CEO. "Being recognized as one of two finalists for this prestigious award is further evidence of the important role our new control center plays in serving as the critical foundation for New York's smart grid of the future."

The new control center replaced a 44-year-old facility built by the NYISO's predecessor, the New York Power Pool. As part of the overall project, that facility received significant upgrades and now serves as a fully functioning backup control center in compliance with North American Electric Reliability Corporation requirements.

The new control center integrates grid control technologies installed as part of the NYISO's smart grid project, funded in part by the U.S. Department of Energy, which was conducted in partnership with the transmission-owning utilities and power authorities and involved extensive collaboration among contractors, stakeholders, the Public Service Commission and other state agencies.